Decorah eagle dad missing: 'We don't think he's going to come back'

Each spring people all over the world get an inside view of the birth and rearing of new bald eagles, thanks to The Raptor Resource Project's live streaming camera. See some of the best footage and learn why the team remains committed to the work.
Kelsey Kremer/The Register with The Raptor Resource Project

Mom and Dad Decorah do snow removal earlier this season for the eggs. Dad Decorah went missing last Wednesday and hasn't been found.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Raptors Resource Center)

The Raptor Resource Project issued a statement Thursday evening about the famous male bald eagle who has been missing since April 18. A search of the immediate area surrounding the eagle's nest, where he was helping to raise three eaglets, turned up no signs of the patriarch.

"And now we have to accept that we — and Mom — will have to go on without him," the statement read.

Amy Ries, a contractor who works for the Raptor Resource Project, said fans of the Decorah eagles have been grieving over the last eight days since Dad first went missing.

"Basically we’re letting people know that Dad is gone. We don't think he’s going to come back," she said. "It's time for us to move forward."

The post on the nonprofit's Facebook page said the disappeared eagle will be remembered as "a masterful architect, skilled hunter, proficient prey purveyor, loving and perfect partner, defender of all things that go bump in the night, and devoted dad."

"Death and the succession of eagles is part of the natural order, but that doesn't make it any less sad when it happens," the post read. "We watch the Decorah eagles and love them, but they belong to no one but themselves. Their lives are a gift we are privileged to share and learn from."

“Death and the succession of eagles is part of the natural order, but that doesn't make it any less sad when it happens.”

Raptor Resource Project

Known only as Dad Decorah, the eagle played a starring role in the tale of the world-famous Decorah eagles. Since launching a live nest cam in 2007, the eagles have been viewed nearly 400 million times. The patriarch fathered 31 eaglets over that time.

"It's been a hard thing to tell people, I knew there would be people who would be really crushed," Ries said. "For a lot of them, mom and dad were kind of like family."

The three eaglets are more vulnerable without their father. Generally, the parents take turns hunting and guarding the nest. But now, the mother must leave the chicks behind when she ventures away, leaving the birds at risk of being preyed upon by another eagle or raptor.

But so far, mom has held her own.

John Howe, executive director of the Raptor Resource Center, said she has done a good job guarding the nest and keeping her young well fed, hunting and delivering several times throughout the day.

The project specializes in the preservation of falcons, eagles, ospreys, hawks and owls. It creates, improves and directly maintains more than 50 nests and nest sites and offers training in nest site creation and management.

Experts still don't know why the eagle went missing in the first place.

After conferring with a panel of eagle experts, a few theories rose to the top: It's possible he was electrocuted by power lines or hit by a car. The panel rejected the idea that the eagle just "gave up and left" and though it was unlikely that he was shot or kidnapped.

But what's most likely, they concluded, is that the other male eagle hanging around the nest — known as UME, or unidentified male eagle — challenged Decorah Dad. With a high density of eagles in the area, particularly non-breeding adults, intra-species fighting has become a leading cause of death among bald eagles, the nonprofit said.

"In some ways, it seems fitting that we will never truly know what happened to him," the post read. "Dad remained his very own self until the end."

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah. Bob Anderson with Raptor Resource Project said he never gets tired of viewing the nest. Anderson has a control booth set up in a shed owned by Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus.
Mary Willie/The Register

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah. Bob Anderson with Raptor Resource Project said he never gets tired of watching the nest. He is shown here in the control room, which is a storage shed owned by Willard Holthaus.
Mary Willie/The Register

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah on April, 7, 2011. Bob Anderson with Raptor Resource Project said he never gets tired of viewing the nest. Anderson has a control booth set up in a shed owned by Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus.
Mary Willie/The Register

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah on April, 7, 2011. Bob Anderson with Raptor Resource Project said he never gets tired of viewing the nest. Anderson has a control booth set up in a shed owned by Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus. Anderson visits with Jim Womeldorf who volunteers in the control room.
Mary Willie/The Register

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah. Their nest is in prime location, just across the road from the Decorah DNR Fish Hatchery and easy pickins for hungry raptors.
Mary Willie/The Register

The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah. Volunteer Jim Womeldorf and homeowner Willard Holthaus share their thoughts on the recent activity in the eagle nest.
Mary Willie/The Register

Willard and Mary Ann Holthaus donate space in their storage shed every year so the eagle camera near their property can operate. The eagles made famous by livestreaming were busy with three hatchlings in their nest just south of Decorah.
Mary Willie/The Register

A wide view of the interior of the garage that serves as command central for the Decorah eagle cam. Bob Anderson is shown at left operating the joystick that controls the camera.
Bob Modersohn/For the Register